Wither the A-10

Devoted readers know i am a huge fan of the A-10. Warthog. What’s not to love about a place that is ugly as sin, built around a 30mm cannon (happiness) and has survived wars as well as the Air Force’s constant attempts to get rid of the thing. The A-10 was designed in the post-Vietnam area or pehaps right at the end. They used what they learned from the A-1 Skyraiders and other planes. but the bird didn’t take flight in war until 1991 where it rocked. But it’s not a pretty, sleek plane and USAF fighter jocks like pretty. Enter the F-35 which has long been seen as a replacement for the Warthog. But to be clear: nothing is gonna happen soon as the USAF is trying to save money right now. So what would a new plane look like? From the Defense News:

When asked what he would do to upgrade or change the A-10 design, Pierre Sprey, who helped design both the F-16 and A-10, said, “In a lot of ways, the A-10 was actually a disappointment to me when it came out, in three areas.”

Those three areas? Thrust, maneuverability and size. Sprey would like to see an aircraft with increased thrust and a tighter turn, allowing the plane to get out of dangerous situations while reducing the time needed between attack runs.

Sprey would also like to see a new design with a smaller body.

“It’s too damn big,” Sprey said. “To me, that was a crushing disappointment because I see that in terms of vulnerability.”

Moseley compared cutting the A-10s to cuts of other beloved aircraft such as the P-51 Mustang or F-86 Sabre when they became out of date but flying them was “still cool.”

But to me, the interesting thing was the ongoing efforts to replace the HH-6o Pavehawk which is their search and rescue helicopter. Apparently, there isn’t much money in the budget for that after the F-35, a new long-range bomber (the B-52 is a million years old and the B-1 has never been the plane they intended) and a next-gen tanker plane. Interesting times for the youngest service in the DOD.

Author: Andy Kravetz

Andy Kravetz has spent most of the past 16 years covering the area’s legal system as well as the military. in that time, he’s crawled in the mud, flown in transport planes, and written about a man prosecuted for terrorism. This blog will reflect all those interests and then some.